350°

Final Fantasy 13: Success On The West

SE announced "FF13 is doing very good in the west. FF13 has been selling better than any title in the series so far"

moegooner885173d ago

The fact that Final Fantasy XIII has a metacritic score of 83 is a joke, it's easily one of the best Final Fantasy games i have ever played.

Antan5173d ago

Couldn't agree more. On chapter 7 atm.

iamtehpwn5173d ago (Edited 5173d ago )

that I couldn't backtrack to some of the older environments, but all things said done, This game is fantastic, I think the pacing is great. I can't believe how addicted I am to the combat system.

I've beaten the game, 71 hours (JPN) of just wondering around Grand Pulse and doing missions.

green5173d ago

I made a comment yesterday saying that i was not enjoying the game but as of this point, i take it back. The game has all of a sudden become really enjoyable, battle are no longer a tap AAAA fest and now require taught. Overall, very good job Square-Enix.

97gsx5173d ago (Edited 5173d ago )

Seriously one of the best? I really dont know about that. But even with all the cuts I still enjoy ff13 more than ff12.

Lionsguard5173d ago

Well considering I was about to banish FF13 to my leper colony of dusty games I never touched again I have to say it made its way onto my top 3 list

1.FF7
2.FFX
3.FF13

knocking off FF8 in third place and I'm still only on chap 5. It might even be able to take second place though its going to be tough FFX was freakin fantastic. FF7 is still king though, nothing will touch that. I will admit I never played a FF below 7 so you 4,6 lovers out there will disagree probably. I dont care though FF7 was what broke me into FF and RPGs in general so I owe it my life.

spectyre5173d ago

I was kinda disappointed with FFXIII at first also. It really hooked me in around 7-8 hrs into the game. Can't wait to finish this one. The battle system was really well thought out and implemented.

kwicksandz5173d ago

if its as sucessful as they claim then i guess all future mainline FF titles will go multiplat. The crazed otaku wont be pleased!

Sitris5173d ago (Edited 5173d ago )

Played a few FF titles some of the PSP ones and FF10 from last gen, played FF7 on my PS1 and this is by far my favourite one that i have played well worth the wait, LOVE IT!!! It's just so polished and beatiful like no load times and i could keep on describing how much i am enjoying it but that would fill a page. This is a quality title that all RPG fans should at least try, and more than likely love. If you have a Ps3 get it, if you only have an xbox, get it. If you don't own either, and your a RPG fan, buy what you can afford console wise and get it, cause it is that good. Once again thankyou square enix!

rextyrann5173d ago

wether or not future FF games will be multiplat is up to the x360 sales. and i do not think that ff13 will outsell on xplat compared to the ps3 version. if i had both systems i still wouldve bought it on ps3. its kinda like tradition. the past 5 ff main series sologames (6 if you cound ffx-2) have been on ps only. no reason to change it now...

to the topic:
i guess finally people have started to build their own opinion instead of just reading and believing some game reviewing sites who maybe are too focused on some technicalities what a modern rpg should have or not.
i am not that far into the game yet, like chap4 but i can already say:
it feels more ff to me than ff12 did. and feels closest to ffx and ff7 . thats a really good thing. so far the first few hours are really just too easy since you dont get every tool of the battle system. but starting after like 4-5 playtime you can already see that this new system is really really deep. probably the best battle system they had since ff7/ffx.
regarding the lineartiy: i dont mind it all. in fact all the past ff main series were almost linear til right before the end when you got to the open world. so thats what ff has always been. dont get the people complaining about it now just because you cant go back to certain areas (which would be kinda stupid and nonsense as far as the story has been going up til now...)

97gsx5173d ago

Reply to sitris
I have been a jrpg fan for about 18 years and I have to say ff13 is not a jrpg. Alot of the complaining about the game is coming from long time fans like me who see the game evolving into something completely different. I think the game is enjoyable but it feels more like an action/adventure game. I am at the end of chapter 9 and I have yet to see basic staples of the jrpg genre.
Mandatory proof of playing

Sitris5173d ago

For me though it has more than enough charector development to classify as an RPg, i never said JRPG as i agree that it is not a JRPG, and i do prefer them as well. But i've grown to love Action RPGs, personally i dont believe ME2 is an RPG but it is labelled as one. So it all comes down to what a RPG really is doesn't it :) Either way i am totally loving this game, one of the best this year personally, as sadly the PS3 hasn't suplied me with much RPG goodness. It's almost turned me into a shooter fan haha

Baka-akaB5173d ago

@97gsx

I can't really agree ... imo most of the complaint atually came from people who werent even into jrpgs to begin with , and picked any kind of bone to lash out at the game .

I dont think XIII is any less of a jrpg , than me2 is a wrpg . Both to various degrées suffer from the same issues .. steeming from too extensive experimentations in streamlining the gameplay and making it more accessible.

Yet both still remains great games for it ...
Those issues would be expected to be fixed though with sequels , and they probably will be .

Anyway my opinion would never be very popular , but i prefered it to FFX so far ... a game that imo had a great gameplay , but nothing else grabing my interest .
After FFVII , and with FFVI still being my favorite ... there hasnt been good story with FF titles imo , besides a few bright spots
like FF9 (and FXII almost making it , if not sabotaged by internal issues and turmoil over it's developpement) , the Final fantasy Tactics awesome spin off , and now FFXIII .

kewlkat0075173d ago (Edited 5173d ago )

Like I wrote in the other thread. Go back and play "Final Fantasy X" or "Lost Odyssey" and you will see what is missing in Final Fantasy XIII.

To me, those are "JRPGs" in their purest forms. Square-Enix took some steps back in "JRPG's in general not just Final Fantasy Franchise.

A Big FAIL so far:

-Small Towns
-Exploration
-Mini Games
-Mini Bosses
-Potion/Weapon/Accessories Shops(usually on the outskirts of town or inside)
-Individual Character(Micro Managing during Battles)
-EXP System based on points(Not just Weapon upgrade EXP)
-LiMited MP [Good or bad but dumbed down in FF13]

I'm only on chapter 9. We will see if some of this will changes. So far,

[+]Beautiful Cut-scenes [Best looking to-date/Never knew Hair Strands could look so good]
[+]Engaging Story
[+]Great Music [Great Battle music]
[+ & -] Battle System is FUN & Lazy at the same time. Remeniscene os Star Ocean Last Hopes' "BEAT" system[Choose your Job Role Sub group and Spam X Button]

moegooner885173d ago (Edited 5173d ago )

I agree Final Fantasy XIII is not as good as Final Fantasy X, which is my fav game of all time, but it's fun, and personally i think it's a lot better than FFXII, which has a much higher metacritic score, btw a lot of the cons u just listed are somewhat "fixed" in the gran pulse part.It's not that FFXIII is the best or worst FF ever, it's just like Baka-akaB said 'it's ok to not like the game , but the angry fanboys need to stop pulling crap out of nowhere'

kewlkat0075173d ago

that I have yet to see in FFXIII.(Didn't think I would have to say that)

97gsx5173d ago

Reply to cescgooner

Your first comment stated that 13 was easily the best ff you ever played but now you say ff10 was the best? Which is it?

Reply to kewl

You hit the nail on the head. Lost oddysey is a better example of a rpg than ff13.

Reply to baka
Yea if the story isnt there I cant get into it. Thats one of the good things about ff13. Except hope ugghh that kid is annoying.

moegooner885173d ago (Edited 5173d ago )

Dude i said 'FFXIII is easily ONE of the best Final Fantasy games i have ever played', not the best FF game i have ever played.Having never played a FF below 7, FFX 4 me is the best FF game ever.

GameGambits5173d ago

This is great to see this kind of reaction for the game to gamers who bought it. I got my Japanese import copy back in December and I remember all the hate the game was getting then too from Japanese reviews and players. This stays true, but the game DOES get better and better. Once you hit Ch.11 it solidifies itself as a GREAT RPG well worth the Final Fantasy name sake.

Sure the game probably won't become as big of a favorite as previous titles for most, but like I've kept saying: If you liked Final Fantasy X you will like FF13.

shawnsl655172d ago

Once you guys make it to the land of Pulse.. prepare to paradigm like a mad man to survive. FFXII compared to FFXIII is like driving an automatic and switching to a manual car, true story.

+ Show (17) more repliesLast reply 5172d ago
Michael Myers5173d ago

its a good game, i play it every once in a while on my ps3,i dont like like how the men look like little girls though.

green5173d ago (Edited 5173d ago )

which man looks like a little girl in ff13?

@VINNIEPAZ: I know thats the way it is with most JRPG's but not FF13. Sazh and Snow are the two main male characters in FF13 and they are men who look like men.

VINNIEPAZ5173d ago

That's how it is with most JRPGs though. Me and my girl will be fighting for the PS3 soon between her playing FF 13 and me with GoW 3. Should be fun.

KillaManiac5173d ago

Snow and Sazh look like a little girl?

Wait....I don't see how they can possibly resemble a woman.

I am scared of the ladies you must know.

Figboy5173d ago

amount of effeminate looking male characters.

FFXII was FAR WORSE.

honestly, Snow looks like a dude, albiet a pretty boy. Hope is a kid, Zazh looks like a dude.

it was something me and my wife joked about when looking at the game. we were like, "hey, the guys actually look like GUYS for once!"

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5173d ago
The real killer5173d ago

You was first a die hard 360 fan, why suddenly faking as PS3 fanboy?

Def Warrant5173d ago

Can't wait for GT5. I won't need another racer (with the exception of motorstom3 and new F1) for along LOOOOONG time.

Baba19065173d ago

defenitly an awsome game. well deserved. i really love the gameplay. sure there are some things that can be done begtter but it stoll rocks. i like it way better than 12.

Show all comments (62)
250°

Why Xbox believes it must cut costs and close studios

Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.

Read Full Story >>
eurogamer.net
gold_drake10h ago

i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.

its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.

Jingsing6h ago

This is exactly what many people said would happen including the CMA and FTC. Lies lies and more lies and they allowed a $69 billion buy out to happen.

gold_drake6h ago

oh yeh it was 70 billion. that was my bad haha even worse.

thesoftware7306h ago(Edited 6h ago)

gold,

You can't be serious, right?

Do you think that MS thought they would make 80bill in a year & Half? They haven't even released titles under MS yet, lol.

But in fact, that A/B revenue is already paying off, look at the last earnings call. That $80 billion is long-term money, my guy, no sane person/company would think they would make that back in any short-term situation, it's a long-term investment.

Let's play silly then. If MS's reason for laying off staff and closing studios was due(which it really was not) to the A/B deal, tell me what Sony's reason was for past studio closures, the recent 900-person layoffs, closing Sony London, shutting down Dreams, and closing Japan Studio? Zipper? Psygnosis? cuts at all their internal studios.

Keep in mind, you are claiming MS's reason is because of the A/B deal; please explain Sony's reason.

Hofstaderman6h ago

You actually still defending them? Sheesh.....

gold_drake6h ago

this is not a sony vs MS debate. dont make it something it isnt.

and of course not, but im pretty sure they thought they'd make more money after the deal. they didnt, and closed off some studios.

its pretty insane to think there is any other reason for the closure of studios in this case.

romulus236h ago(Edited 6h ago)

(It really was) due to the Activision Blizzard deal and the loss of physical sales due to gamepass. You keep bringing up Sony in all your posts about this, stop deflecting and trying to change the topic, this is about MS and what they are doing.

BehindTheRows5h ago

Has nothing to do with Sony. Stay on topic.

notachance5h ago

once in a while you see someone too invested in their make-believe console war that everything happened has to be connected to said war…

a bit of banter between fans is normal, this crusade you’re doing now isn’t.

Chevalier5h ago

Wow idiotic. You bring up very old closures not that there haven't been recent ones from Playstations, but, seriously stop deflecting. This has NOTHING to do with Playstation.

Does Playstation got $3 trillion behind them and daddies wallet? No they don't so stop making a fool of yourself.

Xbox has never been profitable really and they just keep losing money so between their worst hardware sales, terrible 3rd party sales and now terrible 1st party sales.

Gamepass numbers that are no longer being announced shows their numbers after 3 years of missed targets has flatlined. Plus their recent gains up to 34 million were ONLY because they folded Gold members in too. Absolutely take your idiotic rhetoric out of here. Keep on topic without deflecting.

S2Killinit5h ago

Ayayayay with these xbox/MS excuses.

Reaper22_22m ago

How dare you mention Sony! Everyone here knows when Sony closes a studio and lay off workers it was the right thing to do. Even when they bought Gaikai and fired almost everyone it was the right thing to do.

Gamers can be such hypocrites sometimes.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 22m ago
thesoftware7303h ago(Edited 3h ago)

Drake,

"this is not a sony vs MS debate. dont make it something it isnt."

You are correct that it's not an MS Vs Sony Topic, but when exaggeration and imagination mix from a one-sided social group, similar examples are needed to ground radical thoughts; in this instance, the example was that shutting down 3,4,5, even 6 studios during a restructure/ buyout/acquisition is not some anomaly(it can suck) that has to be dissected or spell doom and gloom.

"But I'm pretty sure they thought they'd make more money after the deal. They didn't, and they closed off some studios."

But they did make more money, a lot, actually; the last earnings call showed a huge growth in profit, almost all due to A/B revenue.

"its pretty insane to think there is any other reason for the closure of studios in this case."

The fact that they did make money, kinda throws this out the window, and besides, you don't wake up and say, hey let's close a studio, you look at the output, you look at the dev as a whole, the long term and short term, you weigh it against all other studios and goals, you keep key members, ect..then you close if they are the weakest links...which by MS analysis they were.

Again, I will make a small Sony comparison, just so some of you can understand and see past the bias; Insomniac, ND, and Bungie have made some of the best games ever created, yet Sony saw fit to cut jobs in every of these studios, even tho Insomniac & ND are the biggest producers of PS games, leagues ahead better than Tango and Arkane, yet, they saw cuts, mind you, while being the TOP produces of PS first party. They were told to cut costs, and more jobs may be on the line, and Bungie is being threatened by a hostile Sony takeover. Put that in perspective, as I know that layoffs and dev closures are different, but if the best of the best is getting cut off, it is less than surprising, that lesser studios are closing.

@Cheva,
My response fits well with your comments as well. You even went on to prove that the dev closures are not just due to A/B acquisition. Then you point out Sony has less money than MS, inferring that MS should keep devs open that they see as lesser earners, while Sony having less money makes it okay to close them. lol...it doesn't work that way.

gold_drake3h ago

im not reading all of that. u have ur opinion, i have mine.

thats rly it.

but this aint sony vs ms.

ApocalypseShadow3h ago

You're trying to compare a 100 billion company to a company that has 3 TRILLION worth. SIE has to live or die on their own. And in turn, PlayStation has helped the main company again and again. Sony has to balance out what is working and not working in the company.

While Xbox has Daddy Warbucks footing the bill to keep the platform afloat. They have been bleeding money from Nvidia hardware in the OG Xbox, the RROD fiasco, the attempted 2013 DRM nonsense and the lies about being the most powerful console in the world and the losses of paying out millions to prop up a service hoping it catches on with enough subscribers to justify its existence.

They're not comparable if Xbox isn't allowed to live or die by its actions. It's subsidized. Revenue isn't profit. And if they were profiting on their own, they wouldn't be closing developers. If they were profiting, they wouldn't need Daddy Warbucks spending 80 to 100 billion buying up 3rd party publishers to sustain a loss leading platform.

They stopped announcing game sales, stopped announcing hardware sales, stopped announcing game pass subscribers, they are putting games on their competitors platforms but you're telling us that they are doing great even after killing jobs and closing developers at Xbox.

Stop drinking the Kool aid. You're drunk.

anast6h ago

They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.

Skuletor6h ago

Maybe they were already using AI to make business decisions, which would explain why they closed Hi-Fi Rush's studio, then said they need more games like Hi-Fi Rush not long after that announcement.

Crows906h ago(Edited 6h ago)

They shouldn't have bought any studios. Some is okay...but they went on a shopping spree...stupid

Einhander19725h ago

The better question is why did Microsoft buy publishers for a service they were subsidizing they knew couldn't support.

And why are so many websites trying to make people feel sorry for Microsoft instead of truly criticizing the fact they are closing studios and killing jobs that would have been fine if Microsoft themselves hadn't gotten involved.

Quit feeling sorry for Microsoft and start feeling sorry for the industry and the all the gamers who are actually losing out.

THIS IS MICROSOFTS FAULT.

RNTody5h ago

The first thing that happens after any major acquisition or merger is a consolidation of the whole new portfolio, which includes cutting any excess, bloat or portfolios that don't fit the larger MO of the big boy. So far, it's been par for the course with Microsoft and that's why gamers have been so against this acquisition. Tango Gameworks is the beginning. You think Microsoft wants to pay to keep small timers like Ninja Theory in business?

There is absolutely zero evidence to suggest that Microsoft will improve any of these studios, but plenty to suggest that they will get rid of what they don't need and hold onto the IP. The real agenda of the acquisition was always to acquire The Elder Scrolls, Diablo, Fallout, Call of Duty, Candy Crush etc. that will create millions in passive revenue stream for Microsoft regardless of where the games release. Microsoft simply wants their cut.

Because of Games Pass Microsoft has no interest in investing in new IP which is risky and requires creative talent they can neither nurture nor manage. Game Pass has also not grown in the way Microsoft expected it to, even post acquisitions. Therefore the logical thing to do, without serious money makers to release, is to cut as much cost as possible.

Show all comments (31)
110°

7 Deserving Games That Never Got Backward Compatibility

Backward compatibility works for many games on newer consoles, but titles such as The Simpsons: Hit and Run have been left out.

90°

20 Best Survival Games of All Time

From base building to swinging willies, here are the best survival games around, which include a couple of less than obvious picks.

Read Full Story >>
culturedvultures.com
Vader821d 9h ago

No 7 days to die is criminal